Remote work program 'flawed and broken'

People living in remote Aboriginal communities are going hungry and struggling to feed their kids as they battle to keep up with a "disastrous" work-for-the-dole style regime, a report has found.

Researchers argue the "flawed and broken" Community Development Program - which includes about 34,000 people of whom 84 per cent are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - must be scrapped and replaced.

"(The) CDP is a clear example of people trying their best and being undermined by dysfunctional government policy," report author Dr Kirrily Jordan said on Friday.

"In some places there are reduced store sales, a big increase in those falling behind in rent, people are unable to pay back fines which puts them at risk of imprisonment," she said.

"We're hearing about increased tensions in communities because of conflicts about money."

The scheme was introduced in July 2015 and increased the number of hours required for most people to receive unemployment benefits from 15 to 25 hours a week for about 10 months per year.

Yet participants in Jobactive, the equivalent program in regional and urban areas, generally have much less onerous requirements and only for six months a year.

"They need to go back to basics and this time collaborate properly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations and design a scheme that will work in a remote context," Dr Jordan said.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion rejected the findings, saying it was compiled without any input from his office or department.

"The last thing the communities I visit and engage with on a regular basis say to me is that they want a return to passive welfare and disengagement - which is precisely what would happen if we ended the CDP," he said in a statement.

The program has supported job seekers into more than 11,000 jobs and achieved more than 3600 26-week employment outcomes for job seekers in remote communities.